Many of you may have already heard about Clinton's latest utterly obscene bastardization of Democratic values, her last-minute mailer that accuses Obama of being anti-gun:

Cementing her status as one of the most shameless, soulless panderers of our time, Annie Oakley Clinton has sent out a mailer utterly indistinguishable from what the wingnuts would send.

Too bad her ad staff screwed the mailer up big-time.

I don't have a whole lot to add, but the AP has published an analysis piece that pretty much devours Clinton's candidacy alive. Any other candidate not named "Clinton" losing this badly so late in the game would've been pressured out of this race a long time ago. And they would've had to come up with a better "path to the nomination" than:

1. Stay in race.

2. Fight©.

3. Win!

But instead of calling a spade a spade, the media has danced around Clinton's extremely dim hopes of winning (other than the occasional article in which one of Clinton's own supporters gives her a small-percentage chance). Obviously, for the media, longer race = more happy campaign fun = hundreds more [whatever]gate articles!

That's why it's so refreshing to see the AP finally cut through the crap and lay waste to the mythology of Clinton's continuing campaign.

As we know, controlling the narrative of an election practically assures victory. Like a grade-school game of Steal the Bacon, campaigns make a mad rush to define the issues and the candidates before their opponents can. Frame the issues on your terms, and you force your opponent to re-enforce your frames every time they speak. Define your opponent before he can define himself, and he may never recover.

The Clinton has attempted to seize the moral high ground on the Florida and Michigan delegate situation by invoking the malignant ghosts of elections past: Voter's rights. Disenfranchisement. A voice in the process. "Since when are Democrats against counting votes?" goes the popular refrain.

It's a great strategy, for obvious reasons: it puts Obama squarely on the defensive. Clinton argues for voters' rights, Obama responds with concerns about legal and technical issues. "Rules are rules" doesn't sound as good on TV as "your votes should count!" As far as controlling the narrative, it's a no-brainer.

And unfortunately, it's worked beautifully for her until recently. But is the narrative in Florida finally shifting? Is the Florida media starting to catch on to the Clinton's hypocritical brinksmanship on the issue?

Three weeks ago, Saturday Night Live catapulted back into the national consciousness after months of strike-related re-run doldrums. The key to its temporary relevance, of course, was its blatant shilling for Hillary Clinton.

Join me below the fold, won't you?

The Grand Old Hypocrisy Party strikes again. Florida State Representative Bob Allen (R-Merritt Island) has been busted for soliciting a male undercover cop for sex.

The money quote:

Titusville police were at Veterans Memorial Park on East Broad Street on a burglary detail when they noticed an unshaven man acting suspiciously, going into and out of the restroom three times, Lt. Todd Hutchinson said.

An undercover officer went into one of the bathroom stalls, Hutchinson said. Moments later, Allen knocked on the stall door and offered to perform oral sex on the officer for $20, the police spokesman said.

Now remember, kids...trying to hook up with guys in a bathroom isn't really the issue here. It's hooking up with guys in a bathroom when you're part of the Family Values Personal Responsibility Queers Should Burn in Hell Party. I'm guessing that he was told all his life that gays are eeeeevil, and that there's just no way he could actually be one of them.

No time for insightful political analysis or satire today, just a desperate plea for a new (and loooong-overdue) feature.

We can hide trolls' comments easily enough, but why can't we hide their diaries? Surely, many of you have had the same thought during the time that you've been here. I was reminded of it again yesterday, when the latest bit of Ron Paul-related douchebaggery appeared on the diary list. (Yes, kids...it's "Ron Paul Weekly (Volume 1)," so there'll be a lot more fun where that came from!)

Why do we have zero control over the diary list, especially when the rapid scrolling-off of diaries is a constant topic 'round these parts? If we're concerned about culling the diary list of troll deposits, conspiracy theories and unsourced one-paragraph musings, shouldn't we be able to HIDE those darn diaries?

Didn't see this diaried yet; if I missed it, I'll delete.

Hopefully all of you got a chance to read Rimjob's terrific diary When did Kentucky become part of the Confederacy? We learned that the rockin' kids at Allen Central High School in eastern Kentucky thought that the Confederacy was AWESOME! So much so, they proudly fly its flag at their athletic events, and display it in their cafeteria. (Seriously, check out Rimjob's diary if you want to be ill.)

It seems that we're not the only ones who've taken notice of Allen Central's ambominable Confederate fantasy.

The Virginia Secretary of State website, which has been running behind the networks' updates all night, has Webb up by 8,000. The link is here:
http://sbe.vipnet.org/

This one's looking good.

Sen. Barack Obama, a favorite dKos whipping-boy, said on ABC's This Week that Alito WILL be confirmed, and that the filibuster is not a good idea.

"We need to recognize, because Judge Alito will be confirmed, that, if we're going to oppose a nominee that we've got to persuade the American people that, in fact, their values are at stake," Obama said.

"There is an over-reliance on the part of Democrats for procedural maneuvers," he told ABC's "This Week."

more below.

Known as "The Hammer," DeLay has a reputation for being a hard-charging leader in the House and a fierce opponent for Democrats. As a show of bipartisanship, and to respond to the rumors floating around here and in the press, DeLay has stopped by the Daily Kos to answer YOUR questions.

But now that he has been appointed by President Bush, Bolton joins us tonight in the spirit of bipartisanship and to share with us his vision for UN reform.

Tonight, in the spirit of bipartisanship, Mr. Cheney will be answering your questions. Those of you who were with us for similar Q&A sessions with Senator Bill Frist and Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove know how informative and interesting these Q&As have been. Tonight's will surely be no exception.

And now, without further ado, we bring you Vice President Dick Cheney. The Q&A is now open.

Well, following on the heels of that, we now bring you the next in our Daily Kos Exclusive Q&A series, this time with presidential strategist Karl Rove. (more after the break)

For me, even before my Senate duties, the practice of medicine comes first (frist? ha ha! but seriously...). After all, there is no profession more noble than providing health care for the citizens of this great nation.

And as you may know, my medical abilities are unlimited. I really do know everything there is to know about medicine, which is why I was able to diagnose the late Terri Schiavo through the use of a video clip.

So now, it's time you got to know your neighbors! No, not the people who live on either side of your house or apartment, because really, who gives a shit about them?

No, I'm talking about your User ID neighbors! All you have to do is take your member page and change the numbers at the end, plus or minus one.

From CNN.

Today, at a stop in Jacksonville sans helicopter, Bush proposed increasing  pell grant awards by $500. Students could then receive $4,550, up from the current $4,050. "Students should aim high in life, and that's what the Pell Grants can be used for," quoth the Compassionate Conservative. With tuition skyrocketing, and fully one-third of all community college students receiving pell grants, it seems that help is finally on the way.